Our blog is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
At the time when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens —
while as yet there was no field shrub on earth
and no grass of the field had sprouted,
for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth
and there was no man to till the soil,
but a stream was welling up out of the earth
and was watering all the surface of the ground —
the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground
and blew into his nostrils the breath of life,
and so man became a living being.
Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,
and he placed there the man whom he had formed.
Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow
that were delightful to look at and good for food,
with the tree of life in the middle of the garden
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The LORD God then took the man
and settled him in the garden of Eden,
to cultivate and care for it.
The LORD God gave man this order:
“You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden
except the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
From that tree you shall not eat;
the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.”
Emphasis mine Genesis 2:4b-9, 15-17
I have heard or read this reading every year for eighty-two years, yet two things jumped out at me this year. God, working in my, our life.
The first thing that jumped out at me was:
Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,
and he placed there the man whom he had formed.
Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow
that were delightful to look at and good for food,
with the tree of life in the middle of the garden
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Delightful to look at. The pictures at the top of each blog over the past year have shown that.
Our world is beautiful, and I wish I had spent more time appreciating all the beauty surrounding me.
By taking in the beauty of God’s creation, we also have the opportunity to thank God for His creation and the fact that we have the sight, hearing, and senses to touch and feel what God created.
As you all know, I don’t believe in evolution without the hand of God being involved.
I believe God created all of what you see, and of course, the greatest creation is YOU.
Why?
Because only you have the freedom to choose to Love, Hate, or be indifferent.
You are unique, special, and the only one there will ever be.
Wow!
And yet, many treat themselves as part of a large group with no real individual identity.
That’s a sin!
Everything I have learned has told me that Jesus climbed up on the Cross for the salvation of YOU.
You are that special, yet many blow this truth off and never realize how special they are.
And how can I prove the above statement?
On the Cross of Jesus, two significant events happened.
First:
Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
Luke 23: 34
Jesus forgives the group, THEM, because THEY don’t know what THEY do.
I think not truly knowing what we are doing is a very accurate statement when you consider God as infinite and we are finite. Finite will never know an infinite God fully.
Jesus could have stopped there, and we had all we needed. We are forgiven.
But,
Two:
Jesus then went further and demonstrated the uniqueness of each of us with the criminal on His right:
Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Emphasis mine Luke 23: 39-43
By forgiving the criminal on His right, I believe Jesus demonstrates the personal relation the Triune God wants with each of us.
Never forget Adam’s sin was a sin of rape, and they were thrown out of the Garden of Eden because God didn’t want them to eat from the tree of Life, which is why we all have to die at some point in our life.
Lastly, Adam and Eve didn’t die physically after they ate the apple; they were thrown out of the Garden of Eden, the “Spirit World,” and suffered the death of not living in the Love, Joy, and Peace of the Holy Spirit.
If you want to join Team Jesus, throw satan out of your life by praying, “Get behind me, satan,” or “Come Holy Spirit.” And fight your way back into the Love, Joy, and Peace of the Holy Spirit.
Sidebar:
It is interesting how writing our blog works.
I started with no idea of what we would be writing about, and I am going in a direction I would never have imagined.
After Ryan coined the term Team Jesus, we decided to change the prayer just before the sidebar every quarter. If you have read our blogs, you have a good idea of what the prayers are.
In the jail, decades before Ryan, the question came up as to how to fight satan and get back into the “Spirit World.”
I didn’t have the answer, but the Holy Spirit brought to my mind the following reading.
I will summarize the first part;
Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”
The disciples didn’t have a clue.
Then Jesus next asked, “Who do YOU say that I am.?”
They were dumbfounded, except Peter, who said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16: 16
Next, Jesus says: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” Luke 17
Think back to when you were in school or at a meeting when a question was asked, and you were the only one to get the correct answer.
How did you feel?
Happy you gave the correct answer.
Next paragraph.
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
Luke 16: 21-23
The question that The Holy Spirit brought up to me in the jail was, is Jesus calling Peter satan?
I have heard sermons saying Jesus is calling Peter satan.
Consider as I did,
How could God the Father pick satan to be the rock upon which His Church would be built?
God couldn’t.
What happened?
Peter did what every man in the jail did, and you and I have and are now doing; Peter listened to satan, You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Luke 16:23
Soooooooo, when a stan thought enters your mind, lust, greed, anger, and the list is sadly very long, tell satan to “get behind you” as Jesus did and watch how the thought leaves your mind.
I would love to say you only have to say this prayer once a day, and you’re done. That’s not the case. I say this prayer many times a day to keep living in the Love, Joy, and Peace of the Holy Spirit.
Remember, we are in a fight.
I choose to live in the: “Spirit World.”
Picture:
My picture is not a national park or famous landmark.
It is our beloved farm at sunset. I took it on Dec 30, 2022.
It is a place where my husband and I can walk and clear our minds and feel the power of the Holy Spirit.
When I am stressed, sad, frightened-I can walk here and feel His presence.
So much so that we have placed a sign on the trail to the field that says, “Be Still and Know that I am God.” Psalm 48:10.
Please keep Snapping!
Remember, if you want to submit a picture, no people, please, because we have to get permission from that person to use their photograph; in the comments section at the bottom of our blog, tell me you want to submit a picture, and I will send you my email address in our reply on Thursday.
